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The Royal Gorge Fire burns near the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park on June 14. The fire burned 3,218 acres in Fremont County. It is 100 percent contained, and the cause is under investigation. (Brandon Hopper / Daily Record)

Rejuvenating Fremont County tourism and the local economy are priorities for the City of Cañon City.

Cañon City Administrator Doug Dotson informed the Public Works committee Tuesday about two meetings Thursday that will address those subjects. The recent Royal Gorge Fire has put a hamper on the economy, especially with the temporary closure of the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park.

The Fremont County Tourism Council will meet at 8 a.m. at the Fremont County Administration Building, 615 Macon Ave., to continue discussing an emergency marketing strategy that kicked off June 20. The council wants to get the message out loud and clear that Fremont County is open for business and tourism.

Larry Oddo, chair of the FCTC, said the El Pomar Foundation gave $10,000 toward the marketing plan, and High Country Bank has committed to contribute $5,000.

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The Public Works committee agreed to rescind and redirect $10,000 that was earmarked for print brochures through the Cañon City Chamber of Commerce that have not yet been printed. Oddo said the FCTC also will reappropriate lodging tax dollars to go toward the campaign, but the committee hopes to garner more contributions and funds to go toward marketing Fremont County. The anticipated cost of a tourism recovery marketing plan is about $32,000, and VistaWorks marketing company is working on the first $7,000 phase of creating a detailed marketing plan.

Janet Davisdon, director of human services and assistant city administrator, said time is of the essence with the marketing campaign.

"We've got to move — that's the overwhelming message I heard at (the July 20 FCTC) meeting," she said.

City councilman and Raft Masters owner Dennis Wied said the official tourist season ends mid-August when schools are back in session, and Dotson said downtown merchants already have seen a downturn in business since the fire started June 11.

The second meeting at 8:30 a.m. Thursday at Veterans Park is geared toward local merchants, particularly those in the downtown area, Dotson said.

"We want to get the merchants together and start talking about things that can help their businesses get through this," Dotson said. "Those things can be a variety of things, including small business loans. We want to make sure everybody understands what resources are out there."

Pueblo Community College Fremont Campus has resources to help with business plans, personal marketing and more, Dotson said.

"We also want to begin to generate ideas on what kinds of things they can do to begin to pull people into the downtown," Dotson said.

The meetings are open to community members and businesses who may have ideas to help create a focused, unified message about what is available for tourism in Fremont County.